Tuesday, December 22, 2015

#SandraBland - Grand Jury Decides Not to Indict

It is my sad, but not surprising duty to report that last night the grand jury and its secretive process has failed Sandra Bland and the Bland family. The grand jury decided that none of the officials from the Waller sheriff's office including the employees of the jailer committed a crime. Special prosecutor Darrell Jordan had this to say:

"After presenting all the evidence as it relates to the death of Sandra Bland, the grand jury did not return an indictment...The grand jury also considered things that occurred at the jail and did not return an indictment."

I would really like to know what you are referring to as "all the evidence." Why were the Bland family attorneys excluded from this evidence? Why all of the secrecy, who are you protecting, what are you hiding from those of us who want justice???

"The grand jury has looked at all the evidence and found no evidence of murder..." - Darrell Jordan, special prosecutor.

"We are not going to allow what they have done in a limited, secret capacity to prevent us from doing what we need to do to get answers for the family..." Bland family attorney Cannon Lambert (KPRC-TV)

"Right now, the biggest problem for me is the entire process...I simply can't have faith in a system that's not inclusive of my family that's supposed to have the investigation." - Geneva Read-Veal

A LETTER FROM SHANNON COOPER (SANDRA'S SISTER)

"My Letter of Encouragement to YOU:

I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for the unwavering support that you continue to show our family in the wake of Sandy's passing. The grand jury's refusal to indict anyone in connection with her death is not a surprise to us as a secret process where secret evidence is presented to secret grand jurors is not one we can trust or have confidence in. In the words of our co-counsel Larry Rogers, Jr., "Let our investigation proceed!" Please know that while this decision is disheartening, we will continue to press forward with our existing civil lawsuit.

As we move into the holiday season and you prepare to spend time with your loved ones, unplug from the world for a while to create new memories that will stay with you long after Christmas. For those of you who knew Sandy on a personal level, hold your most precious memories of the time you spent with her close to your heart. For those of you who came to know Sandy through her passing, commit to continuously advocating for her as well as others impacted by societal injustice. When you think back on this year, don't replay the dash camera footage repeatedly in your mind or that terrible mugshot photo (which you should never share again) as that in no way is an accurate depiction of who Sandy was to those who loved her dearly.

Ponder the following interesting facts from 2015 which prove that‪#‎SandySTILLSpeaks‬*Sandra Bland was the third most Googled issue this year;*Sandy's story was among the top five ranked news stories in TX;*Sandy has been acknowledged on all major local and national news outlets and her situation has forced the world to be more inclusive in our conversations around police brutality as it's a sobering reminder that women of color are also targets (Clint Smith commentary credit);*‪#‎SandraBland‬ was among the top 10 trending hashtags on Twitter;*As I write this message, Sandy's trending on Twitter (39.6K & climbing) and FB AGAIN!

If you're able to, FLOOD your timeline with your favorite Sandy B picture to remind the world that Sandy was more than a hashtag. She was a daughter, sister, TT DD to her nieces and nephews, a Soror, a scholar, budding activist and friend with a million dollar smile:) Her journey towards justice is a marathon and I encourage you to ‪#‎sayhername‬, ‪#‎behervoicenotanecho‬ and‪#‎stayintherace‬!